


If Lost, Return to Hawkeye

by hopelessly_me



Category: Marvel
Genre: Becca had a good laugh, Bucky and his fun mask, Bucky is not having a good day, Clint leaves cute notes, Clint rambles, Confused Clint, Embarrassed Bucky, Hurt Bucky, Inspired Work, M/M, Natasha had a good laugh, Pre Relationship, amused Clint, but it definitely got a little bit better, kind of a cute meet, small amount of violence, some language, switching POVs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:41:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24405208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopelessly_me/pseuds/hopelessly_me
Summary: In the middle of a pandemic, Bucky just wants to wear his favorite mask, grab his groceries for the week, and go home to sterilize. Of course, that is not what he gets to do. However bad it was, it definitely had promise of getting better.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton
Comments: 38
Kudos: 185
Collections: Clintucky Fried Bunnies





	If Lost, Return to Hawkeye

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [how am I gonna be an optimist about this?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24396361) by [GreyishBlue](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreyishBlue/pseuds/GreyishBlue). 



> This idea came from a plotbunny on the Clintucky Fried Chicken server, so a few of us decided to write our own versions of it. I mean, you know what they say- a family that plots together, stays together =P
> 
> "Bucky (non powered, just a hot dude with a sweet prosthetic) buys one of these that's purple and says Return to Hawkeye (hes a fan) and well, he gets knocked out in a Avengers Battle Scene and when they're helping up civilians Nat sees the mask and makes Clint carry him to safety, cue waking up confused in Hawkeyes arms"
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

Working in New York City was great- hell, living in New York City was great. There was an unstoppable vibe in the city that never quite seemed to sleep, rich in cultures and diversity. Despite it’s rougher edges, the people of New York really were strong-willed and came together even in the face of the impossible. It helped that they had to because, well, big cities tended to attract big villains.

Bucky thrived in New York. Sure, things had hit a rough spot when he lost his arm in a motorcycle accident and he had to crawl his way back out from the darkness, but the city kept pushing him forward. There wasn’t an option to quit when you lived in a competitive city, and Bucky wouldn’t have wanted to take that option regardless- it just wasn’t in him to stop forward progression.

It wasn’t until nine months after his accident that the CEO of Stark Industries, the company Bucky worked for, took notice and asked if Bucky would be willing to participate in a clinical trial. There were a billion forms he needed to read through, which he made his sister help him with, and dozens of signatures needed, but Bucky agreed. Who wouldn’t? He figured by the end he would end up with a fully functional prosthetic arm, and all it cost him was his time and some level of dignity he supposed. It was worth it.

Now, two years later, Bucky felt like he was at the top of his game. He loved his apartment, he loved his job, and he loved New York. Even if it seemed like every other month there was some world ending event that included aliens flying by his window, occasionally breaking them. But hey- that's what renters insurance was for, right?

This month had seemed fairly quiet in the alien scheme of things, which Bucky was thankful for. So far this month there weren't any aliens trying to eat someone’s face off, or robots shooting at you as you tried to grab a cup of Joe. 

This month the enemy seemed to be something even the Avengers couldn’t stop. A teeny, tiny virus that wreaked havoc on the body. For a change, Bucky didn’t have to worry about aliens or mobs- he had to worry about people washing their hands and sneezing. Which, reflecting back on, he had always been concerned about that, but the new virus somehow made his subconscious thought on the matter very much conscious. It didn’t help that every store and radio station had something playing on repeat about social distancing, the importance of washing your hands, and how to properly cough and sneeze- as if a grown adult shouldn’t have already known those things.

“That mask is classic,” the cashier at the local market said, laughing.

Bucky looked up from his wallet. “What? Oh, yeah, thanks.”

“You should try to make it go viral,” the cashier suggested, ringing out his items. “I follow him on Twitter and he is a hoot. I bet he would get a kick out of that mask.”

For what it was worth, Bucky had a feeling his favorite Avenger would get a kick out of it too. When Becca offered to make him some custom masks, Bucky took her up on the offer. Most of them were tame- he did want to come across professional at his job after all. But every Saturday he wore the same mask when he went to the market for his food for the week. It was a bright and loud purple with white arrows scattered in the fabric and down the middle it stated “If lost, return to Hawkeye”.

Bucky couldn’t help that his biggest celebrity crush happened to be the self-deprecating archer on the Avengers roster. He checked all of Bucky’s boxes. He was insanely tall, had a mess of blond hair he itched to get his fingers tangled up in, and had remarkably bright blue eyes. Almost all of the photos taken of him were done by amateurs after he declared that the arts needed funding across the board, and not just to those who were popular. He always seemed to have a grin on his face that just spelled trouble, was covered in bandages, and always seemed to tell the best jokes on his social media accounts. And Bucky was almost ashamed to admit that the background image on his computer at home was of Hawkeye in a bright purple sweater, his stomach on display as he wiped his face off with the hem of his sweater. What could Bucky say? He had a thing for those abs.

Bucky tapped his card against the scanner after receiving his total and collected his bags. At least it wasn’t a scorcher in New York yet, because the mask already made it warm enough. Bucky looked down the street before he walked, being mindful of the people around him. All he really wanted to do was go home, put everything away, and take a hot shower and wash off the day.

Of course, that was not how Bucky’s day was going to go. Instead, Bucky made it nearly halfway home before there was an odd clicking noise behind him and he turned. The figure was jarring at best, it’s jointing making an odd clicking sound as it approached. Bucky stumbled backwards two steps, taken off guard by not even noticing something had started to tail him. When the alien opened its mouth the noise it emitted ran a chill down his spine and Bucky ran for it.

Bucky rounded a corner sharply, nearly falling before that  _ thing _ smacked right into him, Bucky’s body bouncing off the wall. It was like a mouse being toyed with by a cat. Anytime Bucky thought he had any momentum, he would be batted back down. Bucky tried to grab onto something, anything, which was a mistake; one solid hit with a brick made the alien madder than hell and then Bucky  _ really  _ couldn’t get away.

Bucky’s head sharply hit the wall on the next swipe and his vision started dancing away from him as his body started to collapse. He could blurrily remember seeing the creature's mouth open and in his face, blowing hot air, and then he could see a sharp glint of metal poking through the mouth before he passed out.

\----

“ _ Need some backup on 6th, in an alley behind Joe’s _ ,” Clint heard Natasha radio in. “ _ No stopping for pizza, Hawkguy _ .”

“Excuse you but I  _ am _ a professional,” Clint grumbled back. He spun an arrow around in his hand and stabbed it into the alien that thought it was approaching from behind. “Give me, like, three minutes here. Kinda got a groupie fan club going,” he said, whacking his bow several times into the head of another alien, while trying to kick a third. He felt his leg get caught and he jerked and twisted his body, bringing it in closer before opting for his gun. “Seriously- it’s not bad enough we are living through a goddamn pandemic and if something or someone sneezes near Steve he gets all twitchy like his ass can get sick-”

“ _ Very funny, Hawkeye, _ ” Steve scoffed.

“-but now I have creepy clicking aliens trying to feel me up. What is this life? How did I choose it?”

" _ Done with the Barton pity party?” _ Natasha teased.

“One more,” Clint said, ramming his shoulder into an alien and forcing it back until it fell from the roof. “Now I’m done. Joe’s pizza. Coming to you.”

Clint made his way quickly, only stopping to take shots as he saw fit. The hoard was at least thinning, and he saw far less of them than he had an hour ago. Just remembering the clicking noise made his body want to shiver and he was pretty sure that it was somehow going to infiltrate his nightmares for a few days.

He launched off a grappling hook again before he scaled down the building. “What do you got for me, Nat?” he asked, walking over.

“Apparently this one belongs to you,” Natasha said, getting up. “I called an ambulance already.” He patted his shoulder on passing. “Stop collecting strays,” she teased before she left him.

“What?” Clint asked, confused. He watched after Natasha. “Strays? What the hell is she-” He sighed and walked over before he started to laugh. “Oh my God, I wish you could consent to a selfie right now because everyone would lose their shit,” he commented out loud as he read the guy’s mask. “Oh, you are precious,” he said, checking the man on the ground over. He had several wicked gashes, but upon closer examination, he didn’t seem to have any breaks.

There was a noise and Clint looked up. The man are stirring just a little, mumbling something. “Hey man- it’s okay. You’re safe. Look, can you help me out some? Are you hurt? Well, that was a stupid question. Uh- does anything feel broke?”

Clint got a load of grey-blue eyes and heard a groan before the man slowly started to sit up, his arms shaking. “Hey man- come on, take it easy. Look, an Avengers got you!” Clint winced at himself and that awful phrasing. “Here, I’ll help ya, alright? We should make it to the main street anyway, easier for the EMTs.” Clint managed to wedge his arm under the man’s thighs and supported his back as he lifted. “Woah, you are denser than I thought. Holy-” Clint took a moment to even out the weight before he saw a glint of metal and cocked his head. “Oh hey, you are that Barnes guy Tony told me about. Okay Barnes- well, I’m Clint. And we are going to be okay. Right buddy?” 

Clint knew he was talking for himself at this point, the man in his arms on the better side of loopy and passed out even if he was trying to make himself conscious. He was greeted with those grey-blue eyes again, seeming to focus this time for a brief moment. “Holy fuck, you are Hawkeye,” he barely caught the man murmur.

“I don’t know about the holy bit, but yeah,” Clint laughed.

“You are carrying me.”

“That I am, buddy,” Clint answered. “I mean, your mask said return to me so I mean, what was Widow supposed to do but call me? And no offense, but you are super heavy and she would have made one of us drag you out anyway.” The man nodded and closed his eyes. “It’s alright. You can sleep. I won’t let anything happen to you, pal.”

  
  


\------

Bucky woke up and groaned, covering his face. The lights were way too bright, and the beeping of the monitor next to him was making his teeth rattle. He looked over and spotted his sister before he went very still.

“Please don’t yell, my head is killing me,” Bucky muttered.

“Who said I was going to yell?” Becca asked, smirking like the little shit that she was. Her expression softened and she reached out and touched his arm. “How are you feeling?” she asked gently.

“Like I just played pinball and I was the ball,” Bucky admitted. “They leave me any water?’ he asked. Becca nodded and grabbed the container and held it out for him to drink. “Shit, sometimes I hate New York.”

“I’m just happy you are okay,” Becca said, reaching up to smooth back his hair. “When I got the call I was freaking out.” Bucky nodded once and closed his eyes. “You are going to be the next one to freak out,” she added and he looked over at a grin creeping along her face.

“Oh God,” Bucky muttered. “What?”

“You sure your head can take this?” Becca asked. She grabbed her phone and typed something before she held it out.

Bucky wasn’t sure his heart could take it, screw his head. The image was of Hawkeye walking out onto the street, his face cast to look down the road. Tucked away in his arms was Bucky, mask on full display. There were more photos towards the bottom of the article, one with his hero looking down at him, his eyebrows knitted, and another one of him helping load Bucky into the ambulance. Bucky was pretty sure his heart was going to beat out of his own chest at that point.

“Oh shit,” he whispered. “Oh shit, oh-”

“He left you a note,” Becca said.

‘He  _ what? _ ” Bucky asked in disbelief.

“Apparently he couldn’t come in because he isn’t on your approved list, which is hilarious because I thought the Avengers could do whatever they wanted. But nope. So the nurse said he left you a note.” Becca turned in her chair to grab it. “I need to use the restroom and grab food. Don’t die while I’m gone.” She grabbed her purse, gave her brother a warm smile before she kissed his forehead and walked.

Bucky was stunned for a few minutes. Slowly, he flipped the note over and looked at the handwriting, which was about as messy as Bucky expected it to be.

_ Hey there, number one fan! I hope you are feeling a lot better- sorry you got caught up in the mess that is aliens vs the earth. I’m also sorry that your name is about to become a thing, and reporters will likely want to talk to you because, well, I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough. And sorry I didn’t have a mask on- an alien thought it made a good snack. Seriously- I almost made out with an alien. Top ten list of weird events in my life. _

_ I’m rambling. I do that when I’m amped up. Anyway. We need to have a serious talk. You cannot be returned to me if I can’t even visit you in the hospital. You might need to add me to your emergency contact list or something. Not only that, but I kinda need a name so I’m not confused when they drop you off at my doorstep. I mean, I know your name, Tony told me as he nearly peed his suit laughing. But it’s kinda not the same as hearing you say it. _

_ That being said- if you ever want to meet, just let your supervisor at SI know and we’ll get in contact. Seriously, I need a selfie with that mask and your face. =P And I am always up for meeting new people, eating pizza and drinking beer. _

_ I should stop now before this sounds too flirty and you expose the note on the internet. Which please don’t. I’m not above begging. _

_ Thanks for letting me help you while you slept. _

_ Clint _

_ Clint. He signed it with his actual name. _ Never mind the fact he drew an arrow slicing through the letters and added a little sloppily drawn caricature of himself at the bottom. Bucky read the note five more times before he hid it away. He knew the first thing he was going to do the moment he was released from the hospital.


End file.
